


Gift From an Angel

by tattsun_senpai



Series: Mayoi and His Many Boyfriends [1]
Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nail Painting, Self-Harm, btw the self harm isn't super graphic or gore-y but it's there and kinda important, just mentions of blood n scratching..., mayoi being mayoi.., pls take care of yourselves everyone :(, this wasnt even meant to be hurt/comfort my brain just go hmmm add some pain NOW
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:48:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23490106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tattsun_senpai/pseuds/tattsun_senpai
Summary: Tatsumi notices Mayoi's nails. They appear to be chewed on and not in the best condition, but he can't help but be drawn to the beautiful polish that coats it.
Relationships: Ayase Mayoi/Kazehaya Tatsumi
Series: Mayoi and His Many Boyfriends [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1977061
Comments: 12
Kudos: 92





	Gift From an Angel

**Author's Note:**

> WRITTEN FOR A FRIEND TO MOTIVATE THEM TO WRITE AN ESSAY…...I’m falling behind in school work but who gives a shit. It’s gay people time.  
> I’ve fallen so hard for TatsuMayo and I can't get up. I refuse to get up.  
> I don't know much about painting nails. I just thought this prompt was cute. I watched a nail video for this because I'm brainless. If you know how nail painting actually works I’m sorry.
> 
> I haven't written something for a fandom in!!!!!! So long!!!!! So I apologize if this wasn't very in character and stuff jkdljsff.... someone motivate me not to delete this cuz social anxiety destroys me.
> 
> idk how much more I'll write in the future since I'm hardly ever motivated to a) start things and b) finish them. Still I hope you enjoy this!!!

The sun’s light peeked through the curtains of the large window. Sitting under its glow, Mayoi was diligently scribbling in a notebook. He was alone for once, strangely enough. Usually he’d only ever have this true peace and quiet when hiding deep within the building’s ceiling. But today was different.

Tatsumi had some individual practice he wanted to get in for the day. Hiiro and Aira left not too long ago to get food. The two had invited Mayoi along, but he insisted he was fine and had his own business to attend to. And here he was, doodling the sickest things in his book.

...Him and Tatsumi holding hands. Little hearts fluttered around the simple figures. It made Mayoi giggle in a twisted pleasure. He couldn’t help but imagine having The taller male’s hand wrapped around his broken ones. _Tatsumi-san probably had warm hands,_ Mayoi thought. _They must be nice to hold…_

_…..Rattle rattle…._

“Fufu…. Tatsumi-san…” Mayoi drooled slightly at the rather pure thought. Disgusting.

_...Creaaaak..._

“Aaahh, I’m getting excited at the thought…!” His gaze lost focus as he seemingly entered a dreamlike state.

“....Mayoi-san?” The door clicked shut, soon followed by the sound of footsteps. The green-haired male approached Mayoi and placed a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. In an instant, Mayoi spiked up and let out a loud scream at the sudden contact.

“T-Tatsumi-san!” He swiftly shut his notebook, not wanting for Tatsumi to see the horrors that lurked inside. “I-I didn’t know you’d be home so early…!” Tatsumi raised an eyebrow and gave a slight smile. “Fufu, is that so? Do you want me to leave, then?”

Mayoi looked down at his hands. For once, his gloves weren’t on. He hadn’t wished to present his damaged hands to him. “Um, n-no! I don’t want you to leave at all T-Tatsumi-sa-” He looked back up at the man standing above him, taking note of how he was clearly staring at his destroyed, exposed body. He moved his hands out of Tatsumi’s sight in haste.

“...I-It’s awful, isn’t it? Fufufu…” The purple-haired boy mumbled in shame. He knew looking up he’d see nothing more than disgust from the other man. His hands were covered in all sorts of scratches and other marks. His nails were bitten, and his teeth being as sharp as they were didn’t result in any pretty leftovers. 

Silence wavered in the air between the two for a second, until Tatsumi pulled Mayoi’s hands out of their hiding spot. His eyes… lit up?

“Ah, Mayoi-san.” He started, eyeing the tips of his fingers. “Who painted your nails? They look quite nice.”

…Well that certainly took him for surprise.

Mayoi took a minute to register what he just said. His hands look nice? Why would such dirty hands as his ever look pleasant to anyone? Much less to _Tatsumi_? His face instantly heated up, feeling vulnerable in this sort of state.

“Ah, u-um… Well, I actually did them… They’re not very pretty, th-” before he could even finish, Tatsumi inched a bit closer to Mayoi, his shining purple eyes reflecting in the quivering green ones in front of him. It was enough to make Mayoi grow even more flustered, and he ended up quieting him down immensely.

“Mayoi-san, I think your nails look fine. Do you think maybe you could paint mine as well?” Mayoi blinked, at a complete loss for words. He made his best attempt to regain his composure, “Um, ah, well…..” The fierce eye contact with Tatsumi was enough to make him sweat bullets. “You’d get all dirty if I touched you…” He attempted to look away, but he kept being drawn in by the radiant violet that were so fixated on him. 

“I’m sure it will be no issue,” Tatsumi gave a warm smile, still holding Mayoi’s hands. “There’s nothing to worry about, Mayoi-san.” The shorter man escaped his grasp, and looked around the room for his equipment. “O-Okay, please don’t get mad at me if it’s bad… O-Or do…! Uhhh….” He fumbles around with some bags until finding his set of nail polish. “Do you know what color you want…? Any design?”

“I have no preference.” Tatsumi shrugged and went over to sit on Mayoi’s bed, crossing his legs as best he could. “Surprise me.” Mayoi picked out the black and light green nail polish he had, wanting to keep it simple to not upset him.

He sat next to Tatsumi, staring at his hands intently. “I’m sorry, I’ll need to touch your hands for this… I don’t want to corrupt something so pure...” The other man simply chuckled, holding his hand out. “I’ve said before, Mayoi-san. It’s alright.” 

Mayoi let out a deep breath and started to brush Tatsumi’s right hand with the black nail polish. Despite his lack of emotional stability, his hands were quite steady and precise.

The feeling is gentle; somewhat ticklish, even. The sudden giggles that escaped Tatsumi’s lips brought concern to the shorter boy. “Ah, is it bad??? It’s laughably pathetic, huh? I-I’m sorry, really, really sorry! I should-”

“Fufu, I should be apologizing,” Tatsumi began. “Mayoi-san. I’ve just never done this before, is all. I didn’t think it’d feel like this.” He gave a serene smile, “You’re doing fine, Mayoi-san. Please, do continue.”

Mayoi grew embarrassed over his freak-out over nothing, even though it’s very usual for him to do so. He continued painting Tatsumi’s nails in silence.

The world seemed to freeze. The warm, setting sun lit up the room, the breeze slightly pushing past the curtains. Tatsumi analyzed Mayoi’s movements. Even with his recent panic, he had gotten lost in something so small as painting another boy’s nails. He was fixated on covering each nail in perfect, black coats. His breathing wasn’t very steady, but that’s to be expected of Mayoi. He could hear his small humming, and even muttering a bit of baby talk to himself…? Even still, one could tell his anxieties were slowly but surely washing away.

...Tatsumi hadn’t expected Mayoi’s hand to be so warm. It made his heart flutter at the contact, especially considering how cold his own hands were. 

Before either had even realized it, Mayoi finished the layers for his partner’s right hand. Even when he put the small brush down, he kept his grip on Tatsumi’s hand. Maybe it wasn’t the hand holding he had expected, but it was enough to make him want to melt. He escaped his daydreaming state quickly, once the man across from him made some comment Mayoi couldn’t quite pick out.

“Um…. the coats on your right hand are done… They have to dry now” Mayoi turned his gaze away, not focusing on anything in particular. “I-If you want me to keep going, then you’ll need to give me your other hand…! But you don’t have to since the paint job is so ugly and-”

Mayoi couldn’t finish his words until a hand reached out to him. He shifts his glance back at Tatsumi, seeing that gorgeous smile that fit his face so perfectly once more. It was enough to blind him. Mayoi blushed, taking the hand given to him and continued to paint.

Once again, the two were stuck in silence. While it wasn’t bad to be like this, the air felt empty. “So,” Tatsumi started, watching Mayoi carefully work around his nails. “What got you into this?”

“Eh? Well… It’s just a nice distraction, I suppose.” Tatsumi grew curious as to what it was distracting him from, but let the other boy continue to mumble under his breath. “...N-Not like it’s even effective anyway, fufu… I guess I just grew to like the look of it…”

Silence fell between the two again. _Keeping up a conversation with someone like Mayoi is rather strange_ , Tatsumi thought. However, he couldn’t help but still enjoy his slight ramblings.

“Your hands are beautiful, Tatsumi-san…” Mayoi commented, “You’d never need something like nail polish to look nice…” A strange compliment, but Tatsumi chuckles slightly. “A-Ahh, I think this hand is done now…” He caps the lid on his container, watching Tatsumi stare at his nails happily. “Please be careful, Tatsumi-san…! It has to dry!”

“How long does it take to dry?” Tatsumi questioned, holding his hand up in front of him, seemingly unable to take his eyes off the work. “It looks nice, Mayoi-san.” He turned to face the purple-haired man, who began fidgeting with his bare hands.

“I-It’s not much… I just do a lot of handiwork in general… fufu…” His face couldn’t help but warm up at the compliment. “And, um, m-maybe around 10 minutes…?”

“I must say, I didn’t expect you to be so good with your hands, Mayoi-san.” He flashed a warm smile and let out a light chuckle. “I could never do something like this. I’d just get nail polish everywhere, I’m sure.”

Mayoi ended up softly laughing himself; more out of embarrassment than anything else. Something about this surplus of compliments started to cave in on him.

It was unfamiliar to be treated with such delicacy.

...Where did this kindness come from?

It was pathetic to panic over a compliment, and yet…

_Scratchscratchscratchscratchscratchscratchscratch...._

...Why did this feeling make him want to tear his guts out…?

_Scratchscratchscratchscratchscratchscratchscratchscratchscratchscratch...._

Why, why, why, _why_ was it so painful to be loved?

“Mayoi-san?”

At the snap of a finger, Mayoi woke from his hazy state. He felt tears prick his eyes as he recollected his situation.

He turned around, only to see the spot once occupied became empty. He hears shuffling sounds but can’t make out where they were coming from. He looked down, realizing what he had done.

_...Ah._

_That’s a lot of blood, huh?_

He couldn’t even panic. He couldn’t even react. Mayoi had practically gotten used to this feeling. He sat with a pained smile as he stared at the mess he created; blood staining the cuffs of his sleeves. As he admired his own work in his own twisted way, he barely heard the voice of the other man in the room.

“Mayoi-san…!” Tatsumi sits back down on the bed with Mayoi, this time with a pack of multi-colored bandages and antibiotics. “Please, sit still.” The broken man kept his eyes on his distorted hand; the familiar chill of Tatsumi’s hands touching his brought a peculiar sense of comfort.

Neither of the two spoke for a moment as Tatsumi cleaned and bandaged up the bloodied hands. His work truly was rather clumsy, but he managed to cover every wound he could find on his hands. He didn’t know how many more there were, and part of him didn’t know if he should check or not.

“......Why…? Why me…?”

“Mayoi-san…”

Mayoi’s breath grew more and more unstable as he realized what had happened.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Tatsumi-san…” His voice wavered as tears dripped off his cheeks. “You… You dirtied yourself just to help someone as hopeless as me…. I-I can’t understand you, Tatsumi-san…!” 

His warm tears overflowed like a waterfall, and Mayoi shut his eyes tight. He couldn’t stand looking anymore. He wanted nothing more than to crawl in a hole and let himself waste away and die.

...He felt something cold on his hand.

Mayoi slowly opened his teary-eyes to see Tatsumi delicately holding one of his shattered hands. He brought it up to his lips and gave it a soft kiss. Mayoi could barely react to his sudden, intimate gesture. He gazed blankly at the man before him.

“...You deserve better,” Tatsumi whispered, tears seemed to threaten his own eyes. “I’m sorry, really.” He pulled his face away from Mayoi’s hand. Instead now caressing it with his thumb, making sure to be extra careful around any wounds. “I shouldn’t have done something so sudden. I suppose I just... I wish for you to be happy, Mayoi-san.”

Mayoi couldn’t speak. He sat with his warm, messy hand resting in the slightly larger, colder one. His head was held down in shame, and he eventually began to mutter another apology of his own. It was too quiet for Tatsumi to hear, but he could tell it was definitely some form of self-loathing. 

In the midst of his own inaudible mumbles, he feels something soft rest on his shoulder. It was a gentle, yet abrupt touch. He felt his position shift as he was pulled into a hug by the other man. Arms rested on his back and pulled him in closer.

No movement was rushed. Nothing was forced. Mayoi was treated like a fragile, glass bird; one that could shatter at any moment if handled poorly. He ended up relaxing into this soothing touch. Perhaps it was unfamiliar, but something about it seemed so welcoming to him.

“...Please,” Tatsumi began, slightly tightening his grip on the shorter male. “Please believe me when I tell you, Mayoi-san: I want to help you.” The breath against his neck was warm in contrast to Tatsumi’s cold skin.

Tatsumi adjusted his arms to hold Mayoi a bit closer. He rested his hand on the side of Mayoi’s head, feeling his soft hair between his fingers. A quiet chuckle escaped his lips as he pet Mayoi’s hair.

“Perhaps it is silly of me to say, but I believe you have the potential to be an angel. You are so much more than you realize, Mayoi-san. We just need to fix those broken patches; and I’d like to do that together.” He whispered every word with care, feeling tears hit the shoulder of his sweater. He soon pulled out of the hug and grabbed Mayoi’s crumbling hand once more, gifting it with a soft kiss. “Can you promise that?”

Mayoi’s own voice was reticent, still fully unable to comprehend what was being said. “Why… Why do you care so much for a monster like me…?”

Tatsumi took his free hand and pressed it against Mayoi’s warm cheeks, gently petting him with his thumb. He shifts the position of his other hand to interlock his fingers with the other man. Mayoi allowed Tatsumi to maneuver his hands however he wished.

“Because you mean a lot to me, Mayoi-san.” He said, a warm, perfect smile painting his face.

“You’re just an angel who doesn’t have his wings yet.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


“O-Oh, um… Tatsumi-san, I think your nails should be dry by now…!” Mayoi escaped Tatsumi’s gentle grasp. The taller of the two let out a chuckle. “Oh, I had almost forgotten, haha.” He stares at his clean, black nails, obviously satisfied with the look.

“Um, Tatsumi-san… Th-There’s actually something else I wanted to add…! I-If you’ll let me-” Before he could finish, Tatsumi held his hand out for Mayoi to mess with. Unprepared for his partner’s swiftness, Mayoi scavenged around for the green nail polish he got out earlier. “O-Okay… Here I go…!”

Mayoi carefully painted the shape of a diamond on each of his middle fingers. After applying several coats, he shifted back to look at his work. “Is this okay…?”

Tatsumi smiled, noticing Mayoi having a matching clover on his middle fingers as well. “It’s wonderful” He let out a serene laugh. “Thank you, Angel.”

**Author's Note:**

> Is painting nails black against the bible since black is like an evil color or something. i dont know enough about religion for this. but then again homosexuality is against the bible and look at what this bitchass is doin
> 
> twitter is @HiMERU_reimei!! thank you so much for reading this ilysm. Please take care of yourselves everyone!!!!
> 
> EDIT 5/9/2020  
> I just want to thank everyone so so much for the nice comments!!! I'm really bad at describing my gratitude, but it means the absolute world to hear it all. I've never been the most confident in my writing, so to receive such kind feedback really does mean the world to me ;;; Thank you all so, so much!!!


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